Themes

The dominant theme of “A Nation’s Strength” by Ralph Waldo Emerson is patriotism, followed by the subtheme of the power of the individual.

Patriotism

The theme of patriotism is clear even from the title of the poem. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “A Nation’s Strength” is not represented by riches like gold, by wars and battles or by arrogant and proud kings. In fact, as the ending of the poem shows, a nation finds strength in patriots and people with both physical and intellectual power.

For the poet, patriotism means working and defeating laziness, losing sleep for the sake of building a better country. At the same time, a patriot is also the one who is always ambitious, who dares to do what others are afraid of. Emerson suggests that, without hard work and risks, a nation will never find greatness.

Even though the word “soldier” is never used in the poem, you should reflect on the possibility that the expression “brave men” (l. 26) ...